Safe Space
by DodgerBear
Summary: A lazy morning in bed leads to some honesty.


It didn't take long for Mickey to learn how to use his new phone. Since Yev now point blank refused to help him with any technological guidance he relied on Ian to show him all of the features. One accidental dick pic and Yev abruptly resigned from his unpaid position of Chief Gadget Trainer in the Milkovich household and unfriended Mickey on every platform.

"So you can do Snapchat...but you hate Facebook." Ian pondered.

They were laying in bed after waking up late on their one shared day off that week.

"Why'd I give a fuck what anyone made for their dinner? It's all whiny bitch attention seekers or plates of shit food that looks like what I used to get when Terry remembered he had kids to feed." Mickey ranted grumpily.

"Now who's the whiny bitch." Ian teased, reaching across the bed and tickling Mickey's ribcage.

The older man squirmed and grabbed Ian's hand to stop him. He kept it in his grip and rested it on his chest. Ian loved moments like this. They were safe in their own home, in their own bed and Mickey was able to show his own version of affection without worry about anyone giving them shit. Even years into their relationship it was still hard for Mickey to fully relax around other people. The fear instilled in him by his father was always going to lurk under the surface. It didn't bother Ian that Mickey wouldn't hold his hand in the street as long as he got these moments when they were alone.

"I'll set you up on Instagram. It's better than Facebook. You can follow hot celebrities instead of the six people you know in real life."

Mickey punched Ian's shoulder. "Fuck off. I got twenty Facebook friends."

"All that many?" Ian gasped mockingly.

"Got a friend request from Angie last week."

Ian turned to look at Mickey. "Zago?"

"Yup. She's an accountant in Indianapolis now. Married to a cop."

"Wow."

"I guess we all got boring in our old age huh." Mickey grinned and idly played with the fingers on Ian's hand.

Ian smirked. "Not sure how I feel about you being friends with your ex on Facebook."

"She's not my ex."

"You fucked her."

"It was a means to an end. She knew that. Anyway, you think I don't know you still got Trevor on there?" Mickey retorted.

"Didn't think you'd care."

"Don't. I don't wanna sound all Oprah or anything but being old and boring means I trust you ain't fuckin around behind my back. Took us too fuckin long to get here for either of us to mess that shit up. Especially for a dude with no dick."

"Mickey! That was so romantic. So profound. And so insulting. It's a good thing I know you're only joking. Transphobia is not cool."

"Of course I'm not transphobic." Mickey snarked. "Who the fuck am I to tell anyone what to do with their dick? Grow one. Chop one off. Do whatever works for you. Well not you personally. You ever chop that dick off and we're gonna have a serious problem."

Ian laughed musically. "Jesus Mick. You maybe be old and boring but you still make me laugh."

They fell into comfortable silence where only the sounds of their breathing could be heard in the room.

"You still speak to Trevor?" Mickey asked softly.

Ian picked up the slight hint of anxiety in the tone of Mickey's voice.

"Not really. Sometimes he sends me details of some project he's working on. Things he thinks I'd be interested in." Ian replied honestly.

"Yeah? Like what?" Mickey tried not to sound irked by the thought of this Trevor guy, a formative figure in Ian's past life, knowing his man well enough to share things he'd like with him.

"Mostly stuff about fundraisers for youth projects. Sometimes he asks if we can send an EMT down for the day to talk to the kids. Give them basic health checks. Supply them with free condoms. That sort of stuff."

"That's kinda cool." Mickey conceded. "I guess in his job he's gotta use his connections to help the kids."

"Yeah. He's a good guy. I know you think he's a bit of a fluffy hippy but if you'd ever talked to him I think you'd have liked him."

Mickey considered this for a moment. "You ever miss being with him?"

Ian turned his head to look at Mickey. The older man stared resolutely at the ceiling, his hair sticking out at adorable angles and sleep still clinging to his eyelashes.

"What do you mean?"

Mickey shrugged, eyes still fixed on a crack next to the hanging lightbulb. "You guys dated. Properly dated. Not just fucked around. Do you miss that?"

Ian lifted their clasped hands and turned on his side to face Mickey.

"Mick...Trevor is a really good guy and yeah we have shared interests in looking out for kids with a tough start in life. But I wasn't in love with him. And that wasn't his fault. It was mine. Actually it was yours..."

"Mine?" Mickey turned his head to glare at Ian. "The fuck did I do?"

"Existed." Ian breathed softly and gave a shy smile. "All you had to do was exist and he would never be enough for me."

Mickey felt his face go warm and he knew he was blushing. Ian had a way with words sometimes that if spoken in public would earn him a roll of the eyes and a snarky brush off. But in the safe space they'd created in this room Ian's words hit him like a ton of bricks.

"It wasn't his fault he wasn't you." Ian added gently and leaned over to press his lips to Mickey's. It was so tender and perfect that Mickey felt his throat close up. Ian pulled back from the kiss and used his superior strength to rearrange Mickey's body so they were curled around each other in a full body hug. The silence returned and Ian thought Mickey had fallen asleep.

"Maybe next time he lets you know about a thing we could go together..." Mickey murmured quietly.

"Yeah?" Ian pressed a kiss to the top of Mickey's head, inhaling the familiar smell of his man. The smell he'd fallen in love with a couple of decades earlier.

"Sure. I won't even make any jokes about his dick. Or lack thereof." Mickey chuckled to himself.

"Behave." Ian closed his eyes and the silence returned long enough for him to drop back off to sleep for a while.

When Ian woke up Mickey wasn't in bed with him but he heard the shower running in the bathroom next door. He picked up his cell phone from the bedside table with the intention of checking to see if Trevor had any projects going on. He was surprised to see a notification from Mickey. He opened Facebook and felt his heart squirm in his chest when he saw the photo he was tagged in. It was black and white showing half of Mickey's face in a shy smile. The rest of the photo was his own face relaxed in sleep and looking so peaceful. The picture left no doubt that the men in question were together. He read the caption and had to bite his lip to stop it from trembling.

_"I don't get enough days off with this guy. Love our lazy mornings. Love him._"

It had already been liked 27 times, mostly by Ian's family and friends. Lip had liked it. Trevor had liked it. Angie had even liked it. It was so simple, an act carried out by millions of couple worldwide every day. But this was Mickey and it was so left of field for him. Just when the emotion was getting too much and he was about to give in to the tear that wanted to escape so badly, Ian read the most recent comment displayed under the photo and burst into hysterical laughter. The tears he cried were ones of utter amusement.

_**Yev Milkovich: "you two are so gay "**_


End file.
